New syringe-like device seals gunshot wounds

(Photo: Ivana Vuksa)

Sponges are made from wood pulp and coated with a blood-clotting, antimicrobial substance called chitosan.

According to John Steinbaugh, a former US Army Special Operations medic who's got a job at RevMedx in the meantime, these sponges expand to fill the wound cavity, but they also adhere to moist surfaces, creating enough pressure to ensure that the bleeding stops.

Previous experiments on animals were successfull, and the company hopes this new device will soon be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and make its way to war zones around the world.

The project has already been noticed by Pentagon which granted USD 5 million for the research.

This syringe will probably cost about USD 100.